I posted a diary yesterday about the air quality in the northwest (Spokane in particular) resulting from the terrible fires this summer.
Another air quality alert this morning. There will be a slight improvement through today “beginning in south central Washington and spreading northeast through the afternoon and tonight.” A cold front is passing through and winds will increase and air quality will improve.
However this improvement is temporary as the winds will weaken on Sunday and Monday allowing the numerous wildfires in the area to replenish the smoke and lead to potential air quality concerns.
And from the Spokesman Review today
Spokane set a troubling record on Tuesday.
Air pollution averaged during 24 hours reached the highest measurement on record and entered the “very unhealthy” category for the first time since 1999, the same year records began to be compiled…
For the third straight day, air quality reached “hazardous” levels Wednesday in Spokane, the worst category in the air quality index, based on numbers compiled by the state Department of Ecology.
Numbers maintained by the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency did not reach hazardous on Wednesday for the first time since Sunday but spent most the day in the “very unhealthy” category, said Stephanie May, agency spokeswoman. The regional agency calculates its air quality numbers differently than the state...
Most schools kept students inside for recess and canceled outdoor activities for a second straight day.
Montana smoke and fire news from the Independent Record
Smoke cancellations: Nearly a dozen high school sporting events were canceled Thursdayand for the upcoming weekend. Several football games may be canceled or moved with decisions to come in the near future.
Although the smoke is described as "A hideous brown spiral..." by air quality expert Sarah Coefield, there are some actually positive things about it in terms of the fires.
"Smoke is the Sprague fire's friend," went the title of Wednesday's fire update for the 13,000-acre fire burning in Glacier National Park. "The advantage of smoke is the 'dampening' effect it has on fire behavior."
On the Rice Ridge fire, Public Information Officer Mike Cole said the smoke acted as an umbrella, shading the fire from direct sunlight.
"We had a lot of smoke sitting over the fire all day and that's kept the fire down," he said. "We've had a very good day."
Senator Tester met with some success in requesting aid — $2.5 million for farmers and ranchers and he will be asking for more.
This funding comes from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program, which can help with livestock grazing deferment, damaged fence and post removal, livestock fencing, water facility development, critical area plantings, and cover crops, Tester, D-Mont., said.
Canada continues to battle wildfires — with “19 fires of note” in British Columbia globalnews.ca/…
And smoke from the northwest has made it to St. Louis, MO
The smoke and particles from the fires are traveling along the jet stream and have crossed 3,000 miles to the East Coast, according to NASA.
...
By Thursday, more than 76 large fires were burning in nine Western states — including 21 in Montana and 18 in Oregon, according to the interagency fire center.
So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 12,500 square miles (32,000 square kilometers) nationwide. In the past decade, only two years were worse at this point in the wildfire season: 2015 and 2012.
An excellent resource about the fires and smoke is Washington Smoke Information.
The Pacific Northwest smoke map today.